Discussion Questions

What are the “feeling rules” in the following settings?

* College Classroom

* Church

* Hospital

If one isn’t experiencing the “correct” emotion, what form(s) might emotion work take?

In American culture, are feeling rules different for men and women?

Emotions and Role Attachments

Role Embracement – Identifying strongly with a role

and allowing it to shape how we think, feel, act,

and interact with others.

Role Distance – Performing role in a detached way;

our sense of self is not invested in the role.

Social Structure & PersonalitySocial Structure – Consists of positions,

roles, social networks.

Occupational experience varies on 3 dimensions:

1. Closeness of supervision2. Routinization of work3. Substantive complexity of the work

(Consider status at work - “status characteristics”)

Occupational Roles and Physical Health2 key ways in which occupational roles

affect physical health: 1) exposing workers to health hazards, 2) stress

Social Structure & Personality

Job conditions that may lead to stress:

* the design of tasks

* management style

* interpersonal relationships

* work roles

* career concerns

* environmental conditions

Social Structure & Personality

We have two kinds of energy:

adaptation energy, which is capable of being replenished within a 24-hour period;

energy reserves, which are your stores of energy

Distinction between “stress” and “stressor”:

Stress is the utilization of energy beyond that which can be replenished in a 24-hour period.

Stressor is an environmental event which calls for special efforts of adaptation.

Social Structure & PersonalityDavid Elkind says that a person’s attitude toward stressors is

extremely important in determining whether he/she will experience stress.

STRESSOR -----> Interpretation----> Attitude

A positive attitude will help one to cope with stressors in a way that uses energy more efficiently.

A general point with regard to stress: Are we experiencing the tyranny of the urgent ? (fast-pace of life; emphasis on time, etc.) Examples? Implications?

Social Structure & Personality

Your place in the workplace – shaped by gender

In what ways do our adult relationships and work experiences reflect our childhood socialization?

Prejudice and DiscriminationOrigins of prejudice:

Realistic Conflict Theory – Prejudice stems from competition among social groups over valued commodities or opportunities.

Social Categorization – People generally divide the social world into two distinct categories: “us” and “them”.(We may commit the ultimate attribution error).

Social Learning – Prejudice is learned.

Stereotypes – These generalizations about the typical characteristics of members of various groups exert strong effects on the way we process information.

Illusion of Out-group Homogeneity – This is the tendency to perceive persons belonging to groups other than our own as all alike.

Prejudice and DiscriminationWays to combat prejudice and discrimination:

Contact Hypothesis – Increase the degree of contact between different groups. (This tends to work under certain circumstances – e.g., the groups are roughly equal in status; the groups are working toward shared goals; contact between the groups is informal; contact occurs in a setting where norms favor group equality).

Re-Categorization – Eliminate “us-them” boundaries.

Reduce the impact of stereotypes

Love

Love is not just a private phenomenon; it is part of our public culture. Love is a narrative.

3 components of love:intimacy, passion, commitment

What is the difference between love and infatuation?

Love

The Romantic-Love Ideal (5 beliefs):

1. Love at first sight.

2. One true love.

3. Love conquers all.

4. Our beloved is perfect.

5. Follow feelings.

HOW WOULD YOU CRITIQUE THIS IDEAL?

ARE THESE BELIEFS WIDELY ACCEPTED AND PREVALENT IN OUR CULTURE TODAY?

Love

Love is powerful – e.g., allows people to accomplish things; overcome great obstacles. Also, love is powerful in the sense that, for two people in a romantic relationship, love gives each power over the other. From Social Exchange Theory, consider the terms:

Comparison Level (CL) – The minimum level of positive outcome one expects in a relationship.

Comparison Level for Alternatives (CLalt) – The

minimum level of positive outcome one will accept

in a relationship, given his/her alternatives.

Group Dynamics

Dyadic Relationships

Functions of a dyad:* Expression of feelings.* Confirmation.* Change/influence.* Creation/work.

Characteristics of dyads:* Uniqueness.* Completeness.* Building block.

Group Dynamics

Dyadic Relationships

Relationship Stages:

1. Initiating

2. Experimenting

3. Intensifying

4. Integrating

5. Bonding

Group Dynamics

Dyadic Relationships

The Stages of Coming Apart:

1. Differentiating

2. Circumscribing

3. Stagnating

4. Avoiding

5. Terminating

Group Dynamics

Primary Groups – Characterized by face-to-face communication, cooperation, permanence.

Secondary Groups – Characterized by formality, task-orientation, and being short-lived.

Functions of group membership – i.e., why do we join particular groups?

• Help satisfy psychological and social needs.• Help us achieve goals.• Provide us with knowledge and information.• Contributes to the establishment of a positive social identity.

Group Dynamics

“The Third Place” (Ray Oldenburg)These are places that exist outside the home and beyond

the work place.Characteristics:* pure sociability* voluntary participation* diversity* novelty* common meeting ground* spontaneous* emotional expression* contributes to mental balance

Group Dynamics

Functions of Third Places:

* “sorting areas”

* “staging areas”

* welfare for one another

* entertainment

* forum for politics

* intellectual forum

DO YOU HAVE ANY “THIRD PLACES”?

DO WE NEED “THIRD PLACES”?

Group Dynamics

Social Facilitation – The finding that the presence of others enhances performance on easy tasks and impairs performance on difficult tasks.

Social Loafing – A reduction in individual output.

Cohesiveness in groups – Exemplified by the use of “we” and “us” instead of “I” and “me”; joking & laughter;

early arrival/late departure; nonverbals.

Groupthink – Group decision-making style characterized by an excessive tendency among members to seek concurrence.

Group Dynamics

Obedience

Famous study: Stanley Milgram (1960s)

At least 3 factors have been identified as affecting

the degree of obedience:

1. the authority figure

2. the proximity of the victim

3. the experimental procedure

WOULD SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGISTS FIND LESS OBEDIENCE IF THEY CONDUCTED MILGRAM’S EXERIMENTS TODAY?

Group Dynamics

Conformity – The tendency to change perceptions, opinions, or behavior in ways that are consistent with group norms.

Well-known social psychological studies:

Sherif’s experiment in 1936

Asch’s experiment in 1951

Why do people conform? reference groups, informational influence, normative influence, identification, cohesiveness, social support

How can we explain non-conformity?

Group Dynamics

Compliance – Efforts to influence others through direct requests.

techniques: ingratiation, “foot-in-the-door,” and “door-in-the face”

Deviance

Sociological conception of deviance:

*Deviance is much more than a personal characteristic.*Deviance can be viewed as a form of social control.

Power, then, is an importance resource.*Nothing is inherently deviant.*Deviance can be understood in terms of choice,

selection, and purpose.*Diversity is often labeled deviance.

Deviance

stigma – Any physical or social attribute or sign that

devalues an actor’s social identity such that he/she

is disqualified from full social acceptance.

Goffman distinguished 4 types of stigma:

abominations of the body, blemishes of character,

tribal stigma, courtesy stigma

2 basic strategies that deviants use to manage stigma:

1. try to hide or change the stigmatizing condition

2. learn to live with the stigma

Deviance

Deviance in everyday life“Everyday deviances” are occasional slip-ups which

temporarily mark individuals as nonconforming or awkward. In an attempt to avoid these everyday deviances, we make an effort to control:

SPACE, PROPS, and BODY.

Techniques we may need to draw upon: disclaimers,

accounts.

Deviance

Social Psychological Theories of Deviance

Social Control Theory – The stronger one’s bond to

society, the less likely is deviant behavior.

When one’s bond to society is weak or broken,

then deviant behavior may result. Travis Hirschi

identified 4 components of the social bond:

attachment, commitment, involvement, beliefs.

Deviance

Differential Association Theory – Deviance is learned

through association with others. The likelihood that

a person will engage in deviant activity depends on

the frequency of association with those who

encourage norm violation compared with those who

encourage conformity.

Labeling Theory – Focuses on the process by which the

social audience creates deviance and deviants by

so defining the acts and actors that way.

Collective Behavior

Collective Behavior – Relatively spontaneous activity, involving a large number of people, that doesn’t conform to established norms.

In situations of collective behavior, at least 4 features are possible:

free play of emotions (people experience “emotional

“contagion”)

high degree of personal influence

give and take of political competition

emergence of transitory opinions and allegiances

Collective Behavior

Theories of collective behavior:

Contagion Theory – Crowds can exert a hypnotic

influence on their members.

Convergence Theory – There is like-mindedness

before the group comes together.

Emergent Norm Theory – Patterns of behavior

emerge within the crowd.

Collective Behavior

Examples of collective behavior:

Crowds (types include casual, conventional, expressive, acting, and protest) [What kinds of crowd situations have you experienced? Can crowds create heightened conformity as well as

outbursts of deviant conduct?]Riots – Characterized as highly emotional, involving violence and

destruction, and no clear goal. Stages: precipitating event, confrontation, the carnival phase, siege

Rumor – Unsubstantiated information spread informally.Fads & Fashions

[List current fads and fashions in clothes, music, art, or some other area and determine why they are currently popular]

Social Movements

A social movement refers to a collection of individuals who organize together to achieve or prevent some social or political change. There is a direct link between social movements and social change.Theories:Deprivation Theory – attempting to bring about a more

just state of affairsResource Mobilization Theory – success requires

money, labor, contacts with the media, etc.

Social Movements

What may draw people into participating in a social movement?

Mass Society Theory would say that social

movements attract socially isolated people.

Social Networks – People may get involved because

of relationships they have with others who

already belong to the movement.

The ideological appeal made by the movement

might draw people in to the movement.

Aggression

Understanding Aggression

Freud’s Instinct Theory – We have an innate urge to destroy.

Frustration-Aggression Hypothesis – When we arefrustrated, we become motivated to aggress.

Arousal Transfer Model – Arousal in one situation can betransferred to a second situation.

Social Learning Theory – We learn to behave aggressively by imitating others.

Aggression

Situational Impact on Aggression – i.e., What characteristics of a situation might lead to acts of aggression?

1. Reinforcements

2. Modeling

3. Norms (e.g., retribution, revenge)

4. Stress

5. Aggressive Cues

Aggression

Personal Causes of Aggression:

1. Type A behavior

2. Hostile Attribution Bias – The tendency to perceive

hostile intent in others, even when it’s totally lacking.

3. Shame

Gender Differences in the experience and expression of aggression?

Aggression

How can aggressive behavior be reduced?

1. Reducing Frustration (e.g., allocate resources more equally)

2. Punishing Aggression3. Non-aggressive Models4. Catharsis

Also, think about the relevance of empathy.How could we cultivate empathy?

Prosocial Behavior

Why people help others:

1. Sociobiological Explanation – Help others to ensure

survival of your genes.

2. Social Evolution Explanation – Our altruism is adaptive for the survival of society.

3. Good Mood Effect – The effect whereby a good mood

increases helping behavior.

4. Negative State Relief Model – The proposition that

people help others in order to counteract their own

feelings of sadness or depression.

Prosocial Behavior

5. Guilt – This feeling may lead us to help others in order

to feel better about ourselves.

6. Social Norms – e.g., norm of reciprocity, norm of

equity, norm of social responsibility

7. Personal Norms – An individual’s feeling of moral

obligation to provide help when needed.

8. Characteristics of the person in need (e.g., what

caused this person’s problem?)

Prosocial Behavior

In emergency situations, people often do not become involved; why don’t people help?

Latane & Darley conducted research studies in the

1970s, arriving at the bystander effect, which is the

effect whereby the presence of others inhibits helping.

Steps in the decision-making process involved in

emergency interventions:1. Notice that something is happening.

2. Interpret the event as an emergency.

3. Take responsibility for providing help.

4. Decide how to help.

Prosocial Behavior

HOW DO YOU DEFINE “ALTRUISM”?

GIVEN YOUR DEFINITION, DOES GENUINE ALTRUISM EXIST?

Prosocial Behavior

empathy-altruism hypothesis – The proposition that empathic concern for a person in need produces an altruistic motive for helping.

So…altruism is manifested when: we take the perspective of the other, our emotional response is empathic concern, our motive is altruistic, and we gain satisfaction from the person’s reduction in distress.

Research Methods

Review Important Concepts:independent and dependent variableshypothesisinternal and external validityexperimental and control groups

Basic Methods used in Social Psychology:ExperimentSurvey ResearchParticipant Observation

Methods

Ethics in Research

Studies which generated debate (e.g., Milgram’s Obedience Studies, Zimbardo’s Prison Study)

Importance of informed consent and debriefing.

informed consent – Giving research participants as

full a description of the procedures as

possible, prior to their participation.

debriefing – After the procedure, giving the

participants a full explanation of the study.